Even devoted fans of the Texas Rangers, who have long possessed one of baseball’s stronger and well-known farm systems, might not be familiar with the name. Ranger fans likely won’t see him on any team Top 20 or even Top 30 prospects lists.

He wasn’t a marquee international free agent acquisition like other Ranger prospects, such as his teammate Nomar Mazara, were.

But make no mistake. Lopez has made an impact on every professional baseball team he’s ever played on, including Frisco, where he’s more than held his own at the Double-A level.

Frisco first-year manager Joe Mikulik has been impressed with what he’s seen so far from the soft-spoken, but focused 21-year-old left-hander.

“His first couple of outings were solid,” Mikulik said. “One thing he does is he’s aggressive, he’s got good tempo, he keeps the ball down and he commands his fastball very well. The quality of pitches that he’s thrown since he’s been here has been pretty good.”

Lopez, a native of El Tigre, Venezuela, was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Rangers in December of 2010. He began his professional career in the Rangers’ Dominican Summer League in 2011 and exploded on to the scene.

After posting a 2.03 earned run average in seven starts in the Rangers’ Dominican Summer League team and holding opposing hitters to a scant .180 batting average, Lopez moved on to the Rangers’ Arizona Fall League for the 2012 season and continued to improve.

Over the next two seasons, Lopez made 36 starts between the Rangers’ Arizona League team and Single-A Hickory. In that span, he held opposing hitters to a .200 batting average while displaying a solid 166:59 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Lopez’ impressive control and lively pitch arsenal earned him a promotion to High-A High Desert of the California league to start the 2015 season. In the launching pads that are the notorious hitter-friendly California league fields, Lopez allowed just 35 hits and four home runs in 42 1/3 innings pitched.

Through translator and current Frisco teammate Lendy Costillo, Lopez said he took each pitch at a time and really made an effort to keep the ball down, preventing dangerous California league hitters from driving the ball.

He maintained his command, fanning 43 batters while walking just eight and on May 23, he was called up to Double-A Frisco.

Lopez said that throughout his time at High Desert, he had a good feeling that he would advance to the next level.

He said that he was expecting the promotion sooner rather than later because he thought he was pitching well. He also said he felt prepared to pitch at a higher level.

He got his shot and on Monday night, as he faced the All-Star-laden Midland RockHounds lineup at Security Bank Ballpark. He pitched five innings and allowed five runs on six hits. Four of the runs came in the bottom of the first, an inning when Lopez was uncharacteristically wild.

“It (Lopez’ start against Midland) was a mixed bag,” Frisco pitching coach Jeff Andrews said. “I think in the first inning, he was going through it and didn’t have a lot of intent or conviction in his pitches. And I think in the last four innings he did and did very well.”

Since his call-up to Double-A, Lopez is sporting the lowest earned run average (3.55) of any current Frisco starter with at least 25 innings pitched, all while continuing to do all the things that got him to this point over four Double-A starts.

Lopez said he has had to adjust to better quality hitters in Double-A and has been focusing on using his changeup to mix speeds and keep them off balance. It’s been a learning process for him.

Andrews added that Lopez is a true student of the game and that he’ll grow from starts like he had on Monday.

“He wants to learn,” Andrews said. “He wants to get better, he wants to pitch in the Major Leagues and I think this is a stop on the path along the way. “